Safety device for sliding doors



June 30, 1953 R. s. NICHOLS SAFETY DEVICE FOR SLIDING DOORS .2 She'ets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 2, 1949 INVENTOR RALPH G. NICHOLS AITORNEY.

June 30, 1953 R. G. NICHOLS SAFETY DEVICE FOR SLIDING DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2, 1949 INVENTOR V RALPH G. NICHOLS ATTORNEY.

Patented June 30, 1953 SAFETY DEVICE FOR SLIDING DOORS Ralph G. Nichols, St. Charles, Mo., assignor to American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 2, 1949, Serial No. 125,038

11 Claims. (Cl. -19) in small rooms where a receptacle for holding various articles to be taken from or which are to be passed into the room is located adjacent a sliding door and accessible from outside the room through an opening in the room wall. An example of such an arrangement is often found in sleeping car and similar rooms provided with a locker in which an occupant of the room may place, for example, a pair of shoes he desires to be polished. The shoe locker is usually located on the floor of the room adjacent the aisle wall of the car, where it is accessible to the car porter or other attendant from outside the room through a hand-hole or like opening in the aisle wall. These rooms are necessarily quite small and in many instances the sliding door and its path of movement take up substantially the full length of the room along the aisle wall. This condition requires that the shoe locker be spaced from the aisle wall to provide clearance for sliding of the door, which necessarily must move across the hand-hole when it is opened. It will be seen, therefore, that if the sliding door should be suddenly and unexpectedly opened by an occupant of the room at a time when the porter is reaching into the shoe locker, the door can cause serious accidental injury to the porter.

It is an object of this invention to provide a safety stop device for preventing sudden unexpected opening of sliding doors of sleeping car rooms while access is being had to the shoe locker from outside the room.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a safety stop device as above described operable upon opening of the door closing the hand-hole to prevent opening movement of the sliding door across the hand-hole.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a safety stop device of the type described in which return to normal position of the stop member is delayed until the hand-hole door has been partially closed, insuring further protection against accidental injury by the sliding door.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it appertains from the following description taken with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the device with certain parts thereof shown in broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 3 through the housing which encloses the device.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1 showing the device in normal or retracted position.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the stop device in position preventing opening movement of the sliding door across the handhole in the room wall.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 5, but taken on line 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a sleeping car room showing the application of the safety door stop device.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, the door stop device as generally indicated at I!) in Fig. 7 is shown as installed in a sleeping car room l2 defined by aisle wall l4, transverse walls l6, l8 and an outside wall 20. The door stop device II] is applied in the aisle wall l4 between the room doorway 22 and a hand-hole opening 24 closed by an outwardly swinging door 26 hinged at 28 to the aisle wall. A shoe locker 30 is located on the floor of room 12 adjacent to and spaced from the aisle wall I4 and open at the side toward the hand-hole through which a car porter or other attendant may gain access to the shoe locker from outside the room by opening of the hinged door 26, access to the shoe locker from inside the room being pro-- vided by door 32. The room doorway 22 is closed by a sliding door 3'4 which, as shown by broken lines in Fig. 7, is slidable to and from open position across the hand-hole 24 through the space between the aisle wall and shoe locker provided to give clearance for sliding of the door 34. It will thus be seen that a sudden and unpected opening of the sliding door 34 by an 00- cupant of the room at a time when the porter is reaching into the shoe locker through the hand-hole opening 24 can cause possibly serious accidental injury to him. For this reason, the safety door stop device [0 now to be more fully described is provided for preventing opening movement of the sliding door 34 across the handhole 24 at such time.

The safety stop device l0 comprises a door stop member 36 pivotally mounted by means of a p 38 fixed in the housing 40 which is fitted into an opening in the aisle wall I4 and secured in place by screws 42. The pivotally mounted door stop member 36, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is

movable into and out of a position preventing opening movement of the sliding door 34 across the hand-hole, its pivotal movement being limited by a limit pin 44 fixed in housing 40 and extending through an elongated slot 46 formed in the stop member. stop member 36 remote from pivot pin 38 is thickened to provide an abutment 4-8 formed with a curved cam-engaging face or shoulder 50 while its pivoted end portion is formed with a projecting lug 52 whereby the stop member is shifted, respectively, into and out of sliding door stopping position by reciprocating movement of a cam link 54 in a manner now to be described.

As previously stated, the hand-hole opening 24 in aisle wall [4 is closed by an outwardly swinging door 26, the door being connected by hinge means 28 to a suitable frame member 56 secured to the side of the hand-hole opening. The cam link 54 is in the shape of a substantially flat piece of greater width than thickness and is pivotally connected at one end with the swinging door 26 adjacent the hinge 28 by means of a pivot pin 58. The end portion of the link 54 is formed with a cylindrical barrel 59 received between spaced ears 62 of an attaching butt plate 64 secured by screws 56 to the hinged door 26, the pivot pin 58 passing through holes provided in the ears B2 and through the cylindrical barrel 50. The link 54 extends through an opening 68 in the housing 40 and has its other end formed to provide a camlike portion which is in sliding engagement with the cam-engaging face 50 of pivoted stop member 36. It will thus be seen that opening of the hinged hand-hole door 26 will cause movement of the link 54 to the right as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, the cam-like portion 10 of the link sliding against cam-engaging face 50 to swing the pivoted stop member 36 from the normal or retracted position of Fig. 3 to the door stopping position of Fig. 4.

The pivoted stop member 36 is returned to normal position upon closing of hand-hole door 26 by engagement of the lug 52 in an elongated slot 72 formed in the cam link 54. Closing of door 26 will move the cam link to the left as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, the end of slot 12 engaging lug 52 to swing the pivoted latch member 36 back to its retracted position. It will be noted, however, from a study of Fig. 4 that door 25 will be partially closed before link 54 has moved a suificient distance to the left for the end of slot 12 to en gage lug 52 of stop member 36. This is due to the fact that when stop member 36 is shifted into door stopping position, the end of slot '12 in link 54 moves a greater distance longitudinally than does the lug 52 during its pivotal movement. There is, therefore, a certain amount of lost motion between end of slot 12 and lug 52 during the first part of closing movement of swinging door 26, delaying engagement of the end of the slot with the lug 52. Return movement of stop member 36 toward retracted position is consequently delayed until door 26 is partly closed. This arrangement provides additional protection against possible injury by opening of the sliding door 34 across the hand-hole 24 by requiring that the hand-hole door 26 be substantially half-way closed before the pivoted stop member 36 even starts to swing away from its position preventing opening sliding movement of the room door 34.

While the device has been described more or less in detail, it is obvious that certain changes will be suggested to those skilled in the art, and

The free end portion of all such changes are contemplated as come within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a room having a wall provided with a doorway and a hand-hole adjacent the doorway, a door adapted to close the doorway and being slidable to open position where it extends across the hand-hole, an outwardly swinging hinged door for closing said hand-hole, a door stop device comprising a pivotally mounted member located between said hand-hole and doorway formed with a shoulder and shiftable into operative position preventing opening movement of said sliding door across the hand-hole, and a link pivotally connected at one end with the hinged door and having its other end formed with a camlike portion adapted to slidably engage said shoulder of the stop member during opening movement of the hinged door to shift the stop member into said operative position.

2. The substance of claim 1 wherein said link is formed with an elongated slot, and a lug on the stop member extending into said slot in the link whereby to shift the stop member away from the said operative position upon closing of the hinged door.

3. The substance of claim 1 wherein said link is formed with an elongated slot, and a lug on the stop member extending into said slot in the link whereby to shift the stop member away from the said operative position upon closing of the hinged door, said elongated slot and lug being relatively so proportioned and arranged as to be ineffective in shifting the stop member away from the said position during initial closing movement of the hinged door.

4. In a room, a wall having a doorway and a hand-hole adjacent the doorway, a door adapted to close the doorway and slidable to open position across the hand-hole, an outwardly swinging hinged door for closing said hand-hole, a housing located in the room wall between said hand-hole and doorway, a door stop member pivotally mounted in said housing formed with a shoulder and movable into operative position preventing opening movement of said sliding door across the hand-hole, and a link pivotally connected at one end with the hinged door extending through an opening in the housing and having its other end formed with a cam-like portion slidably engaging said shoulder whereby to move said stop member into the said operative position during opening of the hinged door.

5. The substance of claim 4 wherein said stop member is formed with a slot, and a pin fixed in the housing and extended through said slot to limit pivotal movement of the stop member.

6. In a sleeping car room, a wall having a doorway and a hand-hole adjacent the doorway, a shoe locker on the floor of the room adjacent to and spaced from the wall and having an opening giving access thereto through said hand-hole from ouside the room, a door for closing the doorway slidable to open position across the handhole through the space between the room wall and said shoe locker, a door hinged for closing said hand-hole, and stop means for said sliding door located between said hand-hole and doorway interconnected with and operable during opening movement of the hand-hole door to block opening movement of the slidable door across the hand-hole through the space between the room wall and shoe locker.

'7. A safety stop device for sliding doors comprislng, in combination with a room wall having a hand-hole providing access to an area of the room in the path of opening movement of the door and a, hinged door for closing the handhole, a sliding door mounted in the room wall adjacent the handhole and formed with a shoulder, and a link pivotally carried at one end by the hinged door and formed at its other end with a cam-like portion longitudinally movable into sliding engagement with said shoulder of the stop member during opening movement of the hinged door for shifting the stop member into operative position preventing opening movement of the sliding door across said hand-hole.

8. A safety stop device for sliding doors comprising, in combination with a room wall having a hand-hole providing access to an area of the room in the path of opening movement of the door and a hinged door for closing the handhole, a sliding door stop member pivotally mounted in the room wall adjacent the handhole and formed with a shoulder, a link pivotally carried at one end by the hinged door and formed at its other end with a cam-like portion longitudinally movable into sliding engagement with said shoulder of the stop member during opening movement of the hinged door for shifting the stop member into operative position preventing opening movement of the sliding door across said hand-hole, said link being formed with an elongated slot, and a projecting lug on the stop member extending into said slot and engageable by an end thereof upon closing of the hinged door to shift the stop member away from operative position.

9. A safety stop device for sliding doors comprising, in combination with a room wall having a hand-hole providing access to an area of the room in the path of opening movement of the door and a hinged door for closing the handhole, a sliding door stop member pivotally mounted in the room wall adjacent the handhole and formed with a shoulder, a link pivotally carried at one end by the hinged door and formed at its other end with a cam-like portion longitudinally movable into sliding engagement with said shoulder of the stop member during opening movement of the hinged door for shifting the stop member into operative position preventing opening movement of the sliding door across said hand-hole, said link being formed with an elongated slot, and a projecting lug on the stop member extending into said slot and engageable by an end thereof upon closing of the hinged door to shift the stop member away from operative stop member pivotally 6 position, said elongated slot and lug being relatively so proportioned and arranged as to provide a lost-motion connection therebetween whereby to delay shifting of the stop member from said operative position until the hinged hand-hole door is substantially closed.

10. In combination with a room wall having a doorway closed by a, sliding door and a hand-hole providing access to an area of the room in the path of opening movement of the door, a hinged door closing said hand-hole, a door stop member pivotally mounted between said hand-hole and doorway shiftable into operative position preventing opening movement of said sliding door across said hand-hole, said stop member being formed with a shoulder, and a link pivotally carried by the hand-hole door formed with a camlike portion adapted to slidably engage said shoulder during opening movement of said handhole door whereby said door stop member is shifted into operative position.

11. In combination with a room wall having a doorway closed by a sliding door and a handhole providing access to an area of the room in the path of opening movement of the door, a hinged door closing said hand-hole, a door stop member pivotally mounted between said handhole and doorway shiftable into operative position preventing opening movement of said sliding door across said hand-hole, said stop member being formed with a, shoulder and a projecting lug, and a link pivotally carried by the handhole door formed with a cam-like portion adapted to slidably engage said shoulder during opening movement of said hand-hole door whereby said door stop member is shifted into operative position, said link being formed with an elongated slot, one end of which is adapted to engage said projecting lug during the latter part of closing movement of said hand-hole door whereby to return said door stop member to withdrawn inoperative position.

RALPH G. NICHOLS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 818,303 Seaman Apr. 17, 1906 869,798 Orr Oct. 29, 1907 2,309,665 Parke Feb. 2, 1943 2,323,069 MeKinnon June 29, 1943 2,324,799 OConnor July 20, 1943 2,552,058 Patton et al May 8, 1951 

